The black character always dies first. We all know it. It’s practically printed in the horror rule book right after ‘don’t split up.’ But “The Blackening” tears that page out, sets it on fire, and laughs while doing it. This movie takes that tired trope and says, ‘What if the Black characters didn’t die first? What if they lived, had fun, made jokes and had actual personalities?’ 

Radical. I know.

Released in 2023, “The Blackening” brought something horror desperately needed: a cast full of Black characters with range – messy, funny, chaotic, brilliant – and absolutely nobody here is the ‘token friend.’